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Luc was dragged from the depths of sleep by a quiet, insistent buzzing. He’d had another dream—no, a memory—of Ella in one of his past lives. He sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes, and groaned. They were becoming more frequent than before, almost as if the past was forcing him to relive it. Why, he didn’t know. At first, he thought it had been because of the Esrac threat, but most of what he’d seen so far had been glimpses of being with Ella and how happy and in love they’d been.
Ironic, given the state of the relationship he had with her in this life.
He ran a hand through his hair, looking up as the door buzzed again and frowning. He walked down the hall, wondering who’d be calling at this late hour.
He felt her there even before opening the door.
Ella.
Just having her close by felt comforting. Luc hesitated as he reached for the door’s control panel. What was she doing here?
He touched the panel, watching as the door slid open to reveal Ella dressed in nothing but a silk nightie. Her feet were bare.
“What’s wrong?” Luc asked, brow creasing as he moved aside to let her in.
She walked in, and the door slid shut behind her. “I...I keep having weird dreams.”
Luc’s eyes widened. “Weird how?”
Telling her he had weird dreams too would mean telling her what had happened then, and he didn’t know if he could do that, not yet.
“I see things, people, places I’ve never seen before. They feel so familiar to me,” she said, her hair falling over her face. “I saw something the day that Esrac attacked us. A battle. Hundreds of them were swarming through a city with towers that looked a lot like we have here in the old city.” She looked at him. “You were there too. I don’t know what any of this means.” She shook her head. “Do avatars lose their minds?”
“No, they’re just dreams. They don’t mean anything.”
“They led me to the gate. It’s like I was meant to find it.”
Luc frowned. Would her past life have been what led her to the gate? They’d vowed never to touch it again. But had something lured her there? He’d heard of the Esrac queen’s infamous ability to influence others, but could she really do that from another realm?
He hesitated, wishing he could tell her everything.
“It’s been a long day. You should try and get some sleep.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Why do I feel like you’re keeping things from me even now?”
“I’m...We’re both tired, and I’m not having this conversation with you right now.”
“These things have happened. They can’t be future events because they feel different, so why the hell won’t you explain to me what’s going on?” Ella said. “I saw you in the dreams. You looked like you do now, but a little different. I think we were involved then. What aren’t you telling me?”
Luc sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on.”
She snorted. “Luc, we both know when you’re lying. Why won’t you tell me?”
He looked away. She had always known him better than anyone else had. “It wouldn’t make any difference if I did.”
Ella closed the gap between them and cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. “Yes, it would. If we’re going to work together to stop the Esrac threat, we need to trust each other. Right now, I don’t trust you, and you’re not giving me any reason to either.”
Luc pushed her hands away. “I can’t. I can’t let history repeat itself. I never should have been with you in the first place.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” she snapped. “I can’t say our breakup was fun, but I thought we at least had some good times together.”
“Ella, I’m just trying to keep you safe. Maybe Griffin’s right and you should let him bind your talent.” He hated saying it, but maybe it’d be safer for all of them if she wasn’t faced with the burden of being an avatar and carrying the responsibility that came with it.
Ella’s mouth fell open. “There are Esrac wandering loose, and you want to bind the powers that could help stop them?” she cried. “Why?”
“You’re the one who let them out in the first place,” he pointed out. “It’s an avatar’s duty to keep the realms safe, and you freed them from centuries of imprisonment. Intentional or not, you’re the one who caused this.”
“Maybe that wouldn’t have happened if you two hadn’t kept me in the dark in the first place!” Ella retorted. “If you really cared about me at all, you would have told me the truth. You would have trusted me.”
She turned and hit the control panel, storming out before the door fully opened.
Luc watched her go, reminding himself that he had to be done. Duty or not, it didn’t do anything to ease his guilt.
Luc went to see Griffin in his office the next morning.
“Have you bound her powers yet?” Griffin asked.
Luc shook his head. “No. I know it’s the right thing to do, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” he said. “And yes, I know if they knew of her magic, the Republic could use Ella as a weapon against the rebels, and the rebels could do the same thing. “
“If an Esrac gets a hold of an avatar again, the realms will be plunged into chaos. I’ve taught you everything I know about how to keep your own power safe, but we don’t have time to teach, Ella. You need to track down the Esrac, kill them, and make sure the other gate stays buried.”
That had been Luc’s ancestors’ way of dealing with the problem, to seal and bury the gates and forbid the use of magic. Hell, his dreams told him he had been the one to come up with the idea—the banning of magic part, at least. It had kept the people of this realm safe from the Esrac, but now he wasn’t so sure if it had solved everything. Would taking Ella’s powers away really help?
“I need her to agree to the binding for it to effectively work,” Luc said. “I can’t forcibly take her powers from her,”
Griffin sighed. “I warned you getting involved would only cause you more pain.”
Luc looked away. “You didn’t know she was an avatar then. Neither of us did.”
“It won’t stop the curse, will it?”
Luc stared out the window at the white stone towers. His and Ella’s past selves had created the gates and brought about the Esrac problem. They would forever be punished for it, but that wouldn’t stop Luc from trying to prevent it from happening again now.
Luc found Ella in her lab, examining the bones of the body she had brought back from the gate chamber. He had spent the past few days searching for signs of any other Esrac who may have come through when Ella had opened the gate and had been uneasy ever since the gate first opened. There had to be another Esrac close by, and he had to find it quickly. It hadn’t tried attacking Ella yet, which meant it had been watching them instead. No doubt it planned on capturing her and using her to try and open the gate. He couldn’t let that happen. He’d show her just how important it was to give up her magic, and how she’d be safe once the Esrac problem was taken care of. If she were no longer an avatar, she wouldn’t be able to open the gate, and nor would anyone else. After her magic was bound, he and Griffin would make sure the gate remained sealed, this time using stronger wards to bury it forever. The line of avatars would be extinguished, and perhaps then the Esrac threat would finally be over.
Ella looked up at him as he came in. “What do you want? I’m surprised you’d even have the nerve to show your face here after last night.”
“I want you to come with me to find the other Esrac who came through.”
Her eyes narrowed as she finally looked to him. “Why? I thought only one came through?”
“Because I want you to understand why they’re so dangerous and why I need you to agree to let me bind your powers,” Luc said. “And no, another one came through. I wasn’t sure at first, but I’ve been feeling another presence over the past few days. It’s waiting, watching us and preparing to use you to try and open the gate. We have to find it and stop it before it has the chance.”
“We’ve been through this. I’m not giving up my powers.”
“Fine. Will you come with me or not?”
“I’m beginning to wonder what I ever saw in you,” she muttered. “Fine, I’ll come.”
She rose and pulled off her lab coat.
“Let’s get going.”
Luc led her out, instructing Eric over his link to have the ship waiting for them. When they arrived outside, Luc punched in the coordinates and Eric arched a brow.
“Off to go look for more of those green-skinned buggers, are we?” Eric winced at Luc’s glare and nodded. “Right, I didn’t see or hear anything.”
Ella gave Luc a pointed look. “What do we do when we find the Esrac?”
“You stay back and let me handle it,” he told her. “You’re only coming along to observe and help me track them.”
“Why do you even need me, then?” she hissed, glowering at him.
Because we’re stronger when we’re together, he thought.
“Like I said, I’m gonna show you just how dangerous the Esrac can be.” He looked her right in the eye. “You have to promise me you won’t try to interfere, no matter what happens. You can’t let emotions cloud your judgement.”
“Fat chance of that happening,” Ella muttered. “Fine, I won’t get involved even if an Esrac starts tearing you to bits.”
She moved away from him, staring out the window.
Luc’s felt a sharp pain in the pit of his stomach at her wordless rebuttal. Guilt was eating him alive. He hated the ever-growing distance between them.
This is how it must be. I’ll make sure this life is different for both of us.
